Amotekun: Security Practitioners Want Operation at State Level

Oluchi Chibuzor

The Association of Licensed Private Security Practitioners of Nigeria (ALPSPN), has advised governors in South-west Nigeria to allow Amotekun to operate at the state level and not as a regional security group.

The group also suggested that they allow the Nigerian Security and Defence Corps (NSCDC) to supervise the outfit.

The President, Wilson Esangbedo made the suggestion at a press conference held at the association’s national secretariat in Abuja.

The suggestion was the core of various decisions regarding the operations of Amotekun as it concerns national issues.

According to Esangbedo, this has become imperative since the country is not practicing a confederation or regional form of government with a regional parliament that would have given legal backing to this security group.

He noted that the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) had declared Amotekun illegal and that there are fears that there could be jungle justice because of lack of effective regulation of the group and that they could become willing tools in the hands of those that set them up.

He argued: “The NSCDC has recorded a lot of success with its agro rangers scheme which is keeping a lot of farm settlement safe now. Going to court may not be right step as a political solution is recommended.”

The group noted that the setting up of Amotekun security outfit is as a result of the security situation in the south west and the failure of the federal government to address this.

Esangbedo stressed the need for President Muhammadu Buhari to meet with the South-west governors in a closed door meeting to resolve this and set up the national security trust fund to equip the police and make them more effective.

The group urged for massive recruitment for the police, pay them well and reform, to make them more effective whilst reducing extortion and criminal tendencies amongst the rank and file.

“Implement the community policing strategies of the Nigeria police and make it work. Private guard companies need to be incorporated into the National Security Architecture and the Private Guards Act amended to enable Private Guard carry arms.
“Reviews /structural termination must exceed the tenures of the initiators and the policy must guide continuity”, they advised.

Esangbedo also spoke on regulation of the Private Guard Industry said: “ALPSPN will not support any move to remove regulation of the Private Guard Industry from NSCDC.
“ALPSPN and NSCDC are working hard to re-organise the Private Guard Industry with far reaching reforms as contained in the Private Guard Regulation of 2018.
“We are currently changing the face of security practice as guards biometrics will be taken by our regulator.

“Our guard will be trained, certified and licensed. Companies that will train the guards will be accredited by our regulators and ALPSPN and the accredited companies will also have their trainers accredited.

“The current effort of our regulators to make the private guard industry to be as par with the advanced countries is commendable and will be supported by ALPSPN.”